WATERCOLORIST ROBERT KARR Chair, River Arts Alliance
509.671.1539
Peone Creek Pottery amy wharf, potter
The Rise and Fall of the Monarchical Art Critic
on display year-round at Pottery Place Plus, 203 N Washington, Spokane
WATERCOLORIST ROBERT KARR Chair, River Arts Alliance
509.671.1539
Melville holmes
Ascene in the 1981 Mel Brooks comedy, History of the World: Part 1, shows five cavemen eagerly watching the progress of the picture of a prehistoric horse on the cave wall, as another caveman, played by Sid Caesar, adds its finishing touches. Narrator Orson Welles explains,“ Even in most primitive man the need to create was part of his nature. This need, this talent, clearly separated early man from animals, who would never know this gift. And here in a cave, somewhere in the North American continent... the first artist was born.” With a few bold strokes, as his companions look on in delighted wonder, it is finished. The resonant voice of Welles continues,“ And of course, with the birth of the artist, came the inevitable afterbirth: the Critic.” While the artist exults in his creation, his attention is drawn to a bearded stranger who has just entered the cave. The critic fixes a steely gaze upon the picture and a severe frown crosses his face before the sound of an opening zipper is heard and a narrow stream of liquid bathes the new work of art. The artist is crestfallen, as triumph yields to humiliation. The scene ends as the deflated artist’ s friends offer gestures of comfort and disdain for the critic as they turn to walk away.
This funny film sequence contrasts the stereotype of the aloof and imperious real-world art critic-- who by force of personal presence and a way with words can make or break an artist’ s reputation-- with the common man, the art world outsider who says,“ I don’ t know anything about art, but I know what I like,” exemplified by the cave artist’ s friends.
Critics, of course, are only part of the overall art world, which includes art dealers, auction house specialists, art historians, museum directors and curators, art conservators, and art educators. It also includes artists, but here we face another divide because there is very definitely an“ inside” and an“ outside” to this art world. There are types of art that are very definitely“ out.” Thomas Kinkade, best known for his hugely popular renditions of light-filled cottages set in an idyllic mountain landscape or by the seaside with a lighthouse, is a prime example. In the critical establishment his work has been universally hated. A survey of online critical reactions after his unexpected death at age 54 in 2012 offers a litany of derogatory descriptors: saccharine, sentimental, heavy-handed, mediocre, artificial, bad, kitsch, worthless schmaltz, representational, hokey, formulaic, nostalgic, trite and uninteresting. On the other side, a blog post on a site at artpromotivate. com attempts to answer the question,“ What is it about Thomas Kinkade’ s paintings that so many people like and made him so popular?” A survey of some forum comments lists four common factors that drew people to his work: comforting, makes a personal connection, idyllic, family-safe. The disconnect between“ inside” and“ outside” could scarcely be more stark.
38 ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE